Taking care of your hearing aids likely feels simple enough. After all, you were likely given a set of care guidelines when you originally purchased your devices. With regard to regular hearing aid maintenance, the majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step instruction tutorial. But it’s quite likely that you might forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you still may be wondering, what should my cleaning routine look like? Or, how frequently should I have my hearing aid serviced? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as I can?
If you want to keep your hearing aids in good working order, look at the following tips.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Moisture and electronics don’t really jive. Although your hearing aids might provide a certain degree of water resistance, you typically want to keep moisture away from them. Beyond the obvious, this means you should do things like the following:
- Keep your hearing aids somewhere dry and cool. Knowing the best way to store your hearing aids can be somewhat of a challenge for many people. Well, don’t, for example, store them in your bathroom (which gets really steamy at least once a day). And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, store them in the same spot every day. In the same way, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying around, dogs like to eat them and cats like to play with them!
- Avoid using hair products while you’re wearing your hearing aids. When you’re going to use hair spray or gel, remove your hearing aids. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Keep a dehumidifier running during those more humid months. Even indoors, high humidity means your hearing aids could be more damp more often. And the delicate electronics inside of your device will be compromised. If you want to get the most longevity out of your hearing aid as possible, get that dehumidifier running!
Tip #2: Keep the earwax filters nice and clean
The human body normally generates earwax in a healthy way. Hearing aid manufacturers are well aware of this. The majority of modern hearing aids incorporate features that are created to manage a modest earwax production.
Your task is to make sure your hearing aids don’t become overwhelmed with ear wax. This means inspecting and swapping the wax guards when needed (and making that an element of your hearing aid cleaning program). You can purchase and utilize specialized cleaning tools for this, depending on your hearing aid model (ask us for recommendations here).
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? Well, for the majority of models, it will be around once every month or so.
Tip #3: care for the batteries
Your batteries keep your hearing aids going. The better your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your hearing aid will last. So there are several battery-care steps you can take:
- When you’re not using your hearing aids, remember to switch the power off. This just kills the battery for, well, no good reason. And that means your hearing aids may stop working when you least want them to.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable device: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away over and over again.
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery dry and clean. If they are dirty or wet, you can use a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. This is yet another part of your device where moisture is the enemy.
Tip #4: Wash your hands before handling your hearing aids
The majority of the time, you should be wearing your hearing aids. But they depend on you to put them in. You use your fingers to put your hearing aids in, and those hands could contain all sorts of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). By design, hearing aids are very sensitive and probably won’t do well with things like crumbs.
Generally, you should only touch your hearing aids with clean hands. So before you put in or take out your hearing aids, give your hands a quick cleanse.
Tip #5 Stay in touch with your hearing specialist
It might seem like, once you have your hearing aids, you can leave your hearing specialist in the dust. Generally, though, this is not the case. Here are several very good reasons why scheduling routine appointments with us is still relevant.:
- Cleaning and maintenance.
- Keep track of the status of your hearing loss (making sure it’s not progressing quicker than expected).
- To help you adjust your fit.
When something breaks, what should you do?
Sometimes, something could go wrong (maybe you accidentally step on them) in spite of your best effort. You should contact us as soon as you can in cases such as this.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get new ones if needed.
Schedule an appointment with us today to discuss your current or next set of hearing aids.